


Quarter Past Midnight

by torasame



Category: Naruto
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-24
Updated: 2019-10-24
Packaged: 2021-01-02 09:16:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,029
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21159254
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/torasame/pseuds/torasame
Summary: Contrary to popular belief, Shisui adored the river.





	Quarter Past Midnight

**Author's Note:**

> day 11: Nakano river  
based and quoted scenes off a poem i wrote about 5 years ago. kudos to you 9 year old james u _ u i wrote it for literacy class because we were learning about rivers haha and it gave me the vibes. i did have to edit it a bit but i kept most of the wording so if it sounds childish you now know why.
> 
> home boy's gonna confess to his dream girl tomorrow operation ultimate wingman is a goooooo

_ As a new day awakes, a river is born _

_ born through the melted ice _

_ that stayed from the long winter. _

_The river laughed and gurgled as the birds flew,_

_and giggled as the fast wind blew._

_Ths river was curious and looking for adventure-_

_A journey at least._

_But one day, the river might turn into a beast._

_Now it starts to curious-_

_curious like a human child._

_The river starts to flow and gain strength_

_and begins to flow faster._

_It soon joins a confluence,_

_a frienship that will last forever._

_Tribunaries will join it on its journey._

_Suddenly, a drought came and the river was drying up._

_It was still young but it's life had to end._

_It splashed its last time on the planet and was gone._

* * *

" _ The river is alive." _

Shisui had told him once when he had found him by the stream. He was always there after a long mission. Itachi would wander down and find him gazing over the currents and into an untouchable space. He'd usually snap out after a few minutes and welcome Itachi fondly.

_ "The river is alive, can't you tell?"  _ Shisui asked as they watched the moon stare at its reflection in the rushing waters.  _ "It's on a journey to a distant sea." _

Itachi pondered on it further, resting his chin on his knees.  _ "It's quite lonely, isn't it?"  _ The atmosphere felt white and blue, like something in the night was trying to tell him something.

Shisui shrugged,  _ "possibly."  _ The older Uchiha offered him a warm smile that looked quite off in the cool colours of the scenery.  _ "But maybe it'll find a confluence along the way." _

_ "Do you ever want to find where it ends?" _ Shisui breathed a laugh.

_ "I don't think they ever do." _

A beat.  _ "Why do you always come back here?" _

There was no hesitation that passed over Shisui's expression- just wisdom from a soul that outlived him.  _ "This river will keep flowing until it reaches the sea. It might stretch on for miles but it still reaches its destination, doesn't it?"  _ He wasn't sure if the night was playing tricks on him then because he had seen the constellations line up into waves in Shisui's eyes.  _ "And even then, it's journey has just begun." _

Shisui shifted closer to him and sighed, " _ it must be the fatigue getting to me. I guess I also need a place that's somewhat peaceful but has enough white noise to lull me out of my thoughts."  _ Itachi glanced over at him.

_ "You just needed to get away from the clan?" _

_ "And the village, as much as I hate to admit it,"  _ Shisui confessed. He understood. The Will of Fire, they had coined it. Both the clan and the village embodied it well, as much as they'd deny it. The Uchiha were partially responsible for it though. There was a reason it was called the land of  _ Fire.  _ The forest the Senjus had used to border the village christened the  _ Village Hidden in the Leaves. _ Needless to say, the flames of ambition and idealism had been ignited and it seemed they were the only ones who could see it coming. The fire could be controlled in the presence of water- a reminder of its flaws and weaknesses.

_ "Then rest,"  _ Shisui raised an eyebrow at him but rested his head on his shoulder. The fires couldn't reach them there.

_ "The river is alive,"  _ Shisui murmured into the night,  _ "it reminded me to stay alive as well." _ He did not need to say any more than that. Itachi reached back into a past he had never seen. He imagined a seven year old Shisui, tainted and torn from the war he had survived, searching for the innocence he had lost and found the river. Itachi shook the thoughts from his head. It was one of the darkest things they had told one another. They'd been there before they met on that fateful day in the woods.

_ "Does it still keep you alive?"  _ Shisui met his eyes.

_ "In a sense, it does,"  _ He took Itachi's hand into his own,  _ "but I've got you too." _

It saved him some embarrassment to hear Shisui's laugh fill the empty air around them. He decided to overlook the heat that rose from his cheeks to the tips of his ears. The sight of the dark sky fading into light blue caught their attention, signifying the twilight they were caught in. They were stuck in the in between that would inevitably lead to tomorrow. They avoided it for as long as they could.

But the Nakano was drying up. The waters grew weaker and more desperate as the fire burned the night away. He hadn't fully understood it then but the river  _ was _ alive. It was alive and caught Shisui into its arms and granted him the peace he had wished for eight years ago. The night was emptier and the cries of the river grew louder in the unfilled space in the emptied night.

He told himself that he hated this place. That it was nothing but a reminder of death and he was a fool for believing otherwise. He told himself to be angry at the waters for not being strong enough to control the fire that now ruled the land. Itachi blamed the river for the false sense of naivety it had given him and Shisui- it would  _ never  _ reach the sea. The end was right before his eyes- the end Shisui had predicted he would never see. Despite it all, Itachi could not help but wish his tears could flood the banks and urge the dying river to continue what it had started.

The moon did not return to pay respects to the waters that once reflected its beauty onto itself and the stars shielded themselves in the pitch black sky to mourn for the ensuing loss. Itachi sat by the stream, wishing he could avoid another day without Shisui and the day that brought him closer to the river's drought. The twilight settled in and illuminated the river in its warm colours.

It was a quarter past midnight and the river was still.

**Author's Note:**

> kishimoto said bros but i say bromeos
> 
> headcanon time:  
the reason why Itachi and Shisui's "special place" is the cliff by the Nakano river is because it's a reminder of particular events in their lives.  
Itachi tried to jump off the cliff and (as implied in this story) Shisui tried to drown himself. But they survived and managed to meet one another. So it's basically a reminder of what they conquered and the fact that they use that place to hang out and meet is a nod to the fact that they found meaning in life in one another.


End file.
